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I like the Parkinsons. There are so many Parkinson buildings in Los Angeles that I can’t cover all of them so I decided to concentrate on my favorite ones. I also included a couple of buildings from Seattle where John Parkinson got his start.

[Note: if you download any of these images and use them elsewhere please acknowledge my website:

misterdangerous.wordpress.com

It took a lot of research to find all these images. Thanks!]

Before John Parkinson began building in Los Angeles he worked in Seattle. He formed a partnership with Cecil Evers for roughly two years. This is the Calkins Hotel. It was built in 1889-1890. This Parkinson-Evers building has been destroyed. It was located on Mercer Island.

The Frank Pontius House in Seattle (1889). This is another Parkinson-Evers building.

Seattle National Bank in Seattle 1890-1892. This building is attributed to Parkinson only.

Interurban Bank today. This photograph is from Wikipedia and the photographer is Joe Mabel.

From Southwest Builder and Contractor. It was a publication for people in the construction industry. John and Donald’s address and phone number are down near the bottom.

A brochure published by the Parkinsons in 1921 to promote their firm.

The publisher’s note. There is no title page in this brochure. I’ve seen two different copies of it. In both the page above is followed by 2 images of the University of Southern California’s Bovard administration building on the opposite page.

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Hibernian Building/Braly Building done in collaboration with his partner Edwin Bergstrom.

408 S. Spring Street

This is from the Parkinson brochure.

I found this issue of Architect and Engineer and it had a lengthy article on John P. and his partner at the time. It’s from 1910.

Here are the two partners.

Now, look at this. Here it’s called the Union Trust Building (in 1910) but by 1921 (the date of the Parkinson brochure) it’s being referred to as the Hibernian Building.

In 2015 it’s called the Braly Building. I keep looking for interior photos of this building but as of yet haven’t found any.

Some cornice detail.

The article in Architect and Engineer has approximately two pages of text in an article that’s thirty-four pages long. The writer, who is not identified, states, “The illustrations of their work in this number tell the story of their success more forcibly than words.”As a result, the other 32 pages are photographs of their work. It’s a great resource. There’s a bit of information. It says Parkinson was born in Bolton, England on December 12, 1861. He took architecture and engineering courses at Bolton, came to the U.S. in 1883, spent two years in Minneapolis, moved to Napa for approximately four years, went to Seattle for five years, and moved to Los Angeles in 1894. Then it listed all his memberships which were all pretty predictable but one stuck out: he was a member of the Jonathan Club which is a swanky club in downtown Los Angeles which still exists today.

As for Bergstrom, he received even less space text-wise. In a very short paragraph it was revealed that he was 34 years old and joined Parkinson in 1905 to form their firm. He was a graduate of Boston Institute of Technology and Yale. He was a member of the Jonathan Club too.

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King Edward Hotel done in collaboration with Edward Bergstrom

121 E. 5th Street

King Edward Hotel from the Parkinson brochure. I read an article in the Los Angeles Times from February 18, 1906 about the King Edward. It said the hotel had 150 guest rooms, two passenger elevators and two freight elevators. It was fireproof and had a telephone in every room. The furnishings for the hotel cost not less than $50,000 and that all the materials used in the building were from the Los Angeles area. The article also stated that it would be run on the European plan. The writer said The King Edward wasn’t a large hotel but it was situated near the train depots for customer convenience.

The King Edward on a post card. That cool little bus went to the train station to pick up potential lodgers.

This is what The King Edward Hotel looks like in 2015.

A close up of the entrance.

King Edward lobby. Somehow that staircase looks wrong. Maybe the ceiling was higher at one point? I’ve seen a postcard when the building was new and that staircase wasn’t there.

King Edward interior. Part of the registration desk.

Here’s a view of the King Edward interior.

This is the back of the above postcard.

An image that shows the west side of the building. The building looks new in this postcard.

That is so cool. I didn’t venture in because I wasn’t sure if it was open and I was alone. I figured I would get drugged and sold into white slavery if I went inside. Since I had to go to work the next day I took a picture instead. (This building is on the edge of skid row.)

I want this sign.

I bought this card online. It’s 3 inches by 5 inches.

This is the back of the card. As the LA Times article stated it was near the big train stations. I like this card so much and it’s just an oversize business card.

The Los Angeles Stock Exchange. An LA Times obit on Lunden said construction began on the building the week after the 1929 stock market crash. Despite that, no corners were cut and the building cost $1.5 million to construct. The bronze, front doors were the biggest west of the Mississippi.

Light fixture from the stock exchange.

Mantel in the board room.

The outer doors of the stock exchange.

The inner doors.

The lobby.

A Hercules window. He doesn’t look like Steve Reeves, Kevin Sorbo or Dwayne Johnson but I still like him.

The window opposite. These two windows are in the “member’s room.”

The trading floor.

A closer view from Southwest Builder and Contractor.

There are ads like this in all these architectural journals for practically every major building constructed.

The building today.

This is above the door.

These original doors need a better lock.

Was there something else attached at one time? Bronze rosettes?

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Bovard Administration Building, Science Building, Student Union Building and Physical Education Building at the University of Southern California. Parkinson & Parkinson.

University Park

Bovard Administration Building at the University of Southern California from the Parkinson brochure.

That’s John Wesley a Methodist church founder. USC was founded by the Methodists.

It’s Matthew Simpson who was a Methodist preacher. (Note: on the north side of the tower are Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt and on the west side it’s Cicero and Plato.)

This was the backcover for California Southland dated June 1921.

All these buildings have been in constant use by faculty, students and staff for approximately 90 years. USC has renovated all of these buildings and they have new plumbing, new electrical systems, new bathrooms and new walls. They even have Wifi. They’re practically completely new inside. The exteriors, though, remain intact and unchanged.

The Parkinson’s are down near the bottom.

USC’s Science Hall.

I’ve always liked the ornament around the arch and the strip of ornament above the door. It’s very Louis Sullivan-ish.

There are two of these gates beyond the arch. This is looking out.

This was not done by the Parkinsons. It was done by Jean Goodwin in 1937 as her thesis project. I just think it’s beautiful and I’m not even sure what the four of them are looking at. This artwork is big. It’s probably, at least, six feet high and embedded into a wall. It’s through the archway and past the metal gates.

I like this ornament too. It’s above one of the side doors.

Here’s a plaque commemorating the Student Union Building. It says it was erected in 1927/28.

The Student Union Building at USC.

Above the Student Union front door is this frieze.

This cornerstone says 1926-27 which contradicts the plaque above.

Chimney detail.

Up near the top of the Student Union Building is this likeness of Rufus B. von Kleinsmid who was president of USC from 1921-1947. Down a few corbels is a monkey thumbing his nose.

I found this image of the student union building in a copy of Pacific Coast Architect.

Another plaque this time commemorating the erection of the P.E. Building.

The Physical Education Building on the university park campus.

That big head looks like something out of a gladiator movie.

The north side of the P.E. Building.

Above the side door are these animals.

The rams are kind of goofy looking so I like them.

This is the lobby of the P.E. Building. I’ve seen plans for this buildings’ renovation. The building isn’t going to be used for phys ed. anymore. The interior is going to be completely redone. A new physical education building was built a few years back so this building’s original use is no longer warranted.

This light fixture hangs right inside the P.E. Building’s front door.

The PE Building surrounds an inner courtyard. This is the view looking west.

This is the view looking east in the courtyard.

Inside the east wing of the building is a very large swimming pool.

There is an appropriate amount of school spirit in the pool area. I’ve never swam in the pool but I’ve used the locker room on numerous occasions to shower and change.

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Hotel Alexandria done in collaboration with Edwin Bergstrom.

501 S. Spring Street

Hotel Alexandria from the Parkinson brochure. It opened in 1906. It cost over 2 million dollars to construct. The furnishings were from Baker Bros. and cost upwards of $300,000.00

Here’s the Hotel Alexandria on a post card.

The Hotel Alexandria is where all the silent film stars went in the teens before everyone moved to Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

A Griffith behind the sign on the Spring Street side.

Another Griffith on the other side.

Detail from the top of the Alexandria.

The lobby from a postcard.

The mezzanine from a postcard.

A resting room? I wonder if it was just for women? It seems so Victorian.

One of the dinning rooms.

The Franco-Italian dinning room.

Another dining room. It could be the same room as the previous card but with different chairs. The ceiling is different though. Oh, and the balcony doesn’t appear to be in the first card. Plus, in the first card the wall and ceiling “curve” together. They don’t in the second one. These two cards are like one of those cartoons where you spot the five differences.

The grill. Those tables don’t look big enough for a meal so I suspect they only served snacks or light fare. The candlestick telephone, on the far booth, makes me think people were consumed with communication even back then.

With the exception of that 2nd Empire (?) bookcase on the left wall and the lamps everything in the room appears to be mission style. A room after my heart.

I don’t want to sound bitchy but couldn’t they decide on one style? It’s all over the place visually. I was thinking maybe it’s just “contemporary” furniture for the time? As for that bed — it looks like a full size. That’s big enough for a large man but where would the bride sleep?

The postmark on the back of this postcard is May 27, 1925. I like this postcard because the individuals look so Edwardian but considering the date on the postcard shouldn’t they be flapper types?

Hotel Alexandria lobby. I had always thought, from afar, that whatever had been done to the Alexandria’s interior could be undone. This postcard tells me I was wrong.

I bought this online. Along with the brochure came a letter to travel agents dated July 1955.

Here’s the inside of that brochure.

Here’s an envelope with the Alexandria on it.

I’m only including the back because of the graphic and so everyone can see that the glamorous Alexandria was owned by the same people who owned the Hotel TallCorn.

Here’s an envelope from 1906 the year the Alexandria opened.

I found this tiny brochure online.

Here’s the other side.

It’s a baggage label.

The Hotel Alexandria rents out their ballroom for events and film shoots. This decal was on one of the exterior doors that leads to the ballroom.

He was the manager of the Alexandria.

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Rosslyn Hotel and Annex. Parkinson & Parkinson.

112 W. 5th Street

The Rosslyn Hotel from the Parkinson brochure.

This is the original building.

I read an article in the Los Angeles Times concerning the Rosslyn. It was from October 8, 1922 and titled: Giant Hotel Planned: Owners of Rosslyn Lease Site on Opposite Corner for New $1,000,000 Hostelry. The article stated that a 99 year lease was signed between the Edwards’ estate (the owners of the land) and Dwight H. and George H. Hart (the owners of the Rosslyn). The lease deal was for $4, 148,200. The article went on to say that the Edwards’ family bought the land at Fifth and Main Streets in 1868 for $500. The Times said there would be no dining room in the new hotel because the dining room in the current hotel across the street was sufficient. It also stated that the exterior would be an exact duplicate of the present Rosslyn. At first I was unsure what this sentence meant, “Each room will be served with ice water through a modern ice water circulation system.” Then I realized it was air-conditioning or the precursor to air-conditioning. Another thing of note in the article was: there was a small, three story hotel already occupying the site and all tenants had been given notice to vacate the property by January 1, 1923. The new Rosslyn Hotel was scheduled to open in October of 1923. I don’t know if they built it in 10 months, or not, but that was the plan.

The Rosslyn in 2015. The one on the right was built first. The other one is identical and the two are connected by a tunnel under the street.

Letterhead from the Rosslyn.

A Rosslyn Hotel envelope.

One of the lobbies. It looks like it’s from the 1930s.

I like how these brothers incorporated their name into their advertising.

This lobby looks like it’s from the 20s.

That’s not carpeting. That’s a tile floor. It doesn’t make the room look very elegant but it’s probably more hygienic.

It’s a postcard. That’s a pretty decent price since it cost 2 cents to send a letter.

The one on the south side appears to retain it’s original glass marquee. It is now a SRO Hotel that has been beautifully restored. The lobby had a large skylight and most of the original architectural details. (There was a lot of gilding!) They wouldn’t let me take photographs but they let me look around.

The one on the north side, the older one, has been converted to lofts and has a replaced marquee.

A baggage label that incorporates the Hart Bros. last name without ever stating it.

A marble subway and a drive-in lobby.

I found this tiny brochure online. It appears to be from the 1920s.

This page from the brochure describes the underground link.

I found this blue heart online and bought it. I like the blue one even more than the red one.

I found this old brochure online. It looks like it’s from the 1920s.

The Inside.

The old painted sign is great.

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Banks-Huntley Building. Parkinson & Parkinson.

634 S. Spring Street

This building is south of the stock exchange.

According to a Los Angeles Times article from July 24, 1996 titled: Group Restores Historic Building. Maldef (The Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund) moved into the building in 1984 and then agreed to purchase the building in 1991 for $8.5 million dollars. Maldef still occupies two floors of the building and leases out the other floors.

Here’s the top of the building.

This is street level.

Photo taken from a parking lot across the street. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for more than 20 years and this is the first time I remember it raining in July. I took this picture while standing in the rain. I was hoping I wouldn’t get any rain drops on the lens because I was tilted up.

One of the security gates.

A light fixture inside the lobby.

The building’s elevator doors. Very understated.

This is to the right of the entrance.

This is to the left of the entrance. I like that metal detail.

From Architectural Record. It looks so 1930s; like a movie set. I expect Irene Dunne or Katherine Hepburn or Carol Lombard to pull up in a car and step out.

They must have taken this photo from a building down the street and from one of the upper floors.

An Architectural Record photo of the elevator from 1932.

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Los Angeles City Hall done in collaboration with Albert C. Martin and John C. Austin.

200 N. Spring Street

A rendering from American Architect around the time of construction.

This image is from Western Architect. Look how small Spring Street is in the photo.

I went on a tour of City Hall. I took this shot in the morning before the tour. The photo has a hazy morning look to it.

I was standing in the building’s courtyard — looking west.

A more expansive view from the same location. The shadow on the left side of the photo is from the building itself.

The front door. I think it should be bigger considering the size of the building. The doors should be as big as the Wizard’s door in the The Wizard of Oz. Just sayin’.

Western Architect has a nice shot of the front door.

The cornerstone.

Looking toward the front door.

This is inside the front door.

Identical hallways go to the north and south of the building.

Above the center rotunda is this light fixture.

A close up on the light fixture.

This is on the floor of the rotunda.

On the north side of the building is this artwork above the staircase. (Down one of those long hallways.)

This is above the south staircase. Shouldn’t it be naked women? Wouldn’t that make logical sense? Maybe, my mind is too symetrical?

It’s Mercury but I don’t know who the woman is. She’s riding Pegasus. This is above the bank of elevators on the main (3rd) floor.

The door to the city clerk’s office. The bear is a nice touch.

This amazing ceiling is outside the clerk’s office door.

The City Council Chamber was locked but this room was open.

Here’s part of the room.

The ceiling.

This is behind the benches in the first photo.

The City Council Chamber?

Part of the mayor’s office.

On one of the upper floors there’s an exhibit of mayoral portraits. It contains portraits of all the mayors of Los Angeles since 1851. This is George E. Cryer. He was mayor when the present city hall was built. He’s right out of The Great Gatsby.

His bio.

The only other mayoral photo I took was of this guy because I liked the way he looked. His name was Henry T. Hazard and he was mayor from 1889-1892. I’d vote for him.

There was a surprise for me on the tour. The lady tour guide, who reminded me of George Jefferson’s mother on The Jeffersons, said, “Now, let’s go up to the Observation Deck.” My response was, “What?” I didn’t know there was an observation deck. This is the view of the entrance to the Observation Deck when the elevator doors opened.

From the observation deck looking toward Bunker Hill.

Looking south.

Looking west. That’s the Department of Water building straight ahead and you can see Frank Gehry’s Disney Hall at 11 o’clock.

Looking northeast. That’s Union Station.

One of the columns.

This shot was taken with my back against the wall and shooting straight up.

A plaque on the observation deck.

The back of the building.

City Hall on a stereo-optic card.

Union Station: Parkinson and Parkinson

700-888 N. Alameda Street.

Union Station.

It’s very modern looking but opened in 1939.

The information booth near the entrance.

This is above the entrance.

South of the information booth is this walkway to the old Fred Harvey restaurant. I’m a fan of the Judy Garland movie The Harvey Girls and I have the song The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe on my iPod. It’s a G-R-E-A-T song.

The old ticketing area (north of the information booth) which isn’t used anymore.

The waiting area. Looking west toward the front door.

It’s art deco seating.

This clock is above a doorway that leads to an outside patio.

The way to the trains.

OBITUARIES

John Parkinson’s obit from Architect and Engineer, January 1936.

The Currier Building, mentioned in the above obit, is one of the first buildings John Parkinson designed in Los Angeles.

Donald’s obit from Architect and Engineer, January 1946. It’s rather brief.

Public art in Los Angeles. This mural is on Sunset Boulevard about a block away from Dodger Stadium. My book The Odd Fellows was released on December 16, 2013.

Okay, after I posted this post, about four months later I was going through some journals and stumbled upon this article. I had to attach some of the article and some of the photos. They follow.

An interior view of the store from a marble advertisement.

Below are some photographs I took of the building on January 1, 2016.

There were three hanging light fixtures at the front of the store (over window and door openings) but none of them were the same. I found that interesting. The other two follow.

This bronze decoration was above one of the doors. Bullocks Wilshire did have a department where patrons could buy “riding clothes.”

This bronze panel was adhered to one of the storefront windows.

I went into this store when I first moved to California back in 1988. It was still a department store and it was very nice.

In August of 2016 I went to Bullock’s Wilshire for a book signing. It was for Stephen Gee’s book on the Los Angeles Public Library. While there I took some more photographs of Bullock’s Wilshire. They follow.

We entered through the back.

The porte cochere.

Overall view of the mural on the ceiling of the porte cochere.

Porte cochere entrance detail.

The book signing and lecture were held on the 5th floor.

I took this elevator to get there.

This clock was in the area where one waits for the elevators.

There were large windows that looked out onto the surrounding neighborhoods. Two views from those windows.

This grill was in the ante-room to the lecture hall.

The ceiling of that ante-room.

Adjacent to the ante-room and the lecture hall was this 1940s style cafeteria.

A sconce in the cafeteria.

A place for trays and trash.

On the second floor were two showrooms where woman could sit and watch models walk around the room and model clothes. This was the first room.

The other room used for this purpose.

The entrance on the main floor from the porte cochere.

The clock above the door.

Looking toward the Wilshire Boulevard entrance.

Oh, then there is this. The article seems more like an advertisement for the tradesmen mentioned. It’s for the Gas Company Building.

In the top photograph the text states that a dictograph is the most “wonderful of wonderful” inventions.

In December of 2015 I discovered this article on the Title Insurance Building in Pacific Coast Architect.

The Los Angeles Athletic Club.

This image and the image below were in an article about terra cotta.

Unfortunately, this terra cotta entrance has been removed. I wonder what happened to it?

I found this image in a book called, Our First Century: The Los Angeles Athletic Club 1880-1980 by Betty Lou Young and Thomas Young. It’s filled with photographs. According to the book this figural group was removed around 1964 for two basic reasons: 1) it had sustained some damage and was “crumbling” and 2) the board wanted to upgrade the entrance and make it more appealing to potential members. The model for the central figure was Dick Retzer who was the winner of a “perfect man” contest.

Retzer was part of a gymnastic troupe. He’s pictured on the bottom. The name of the member’s publication that the Los Angeles Athletic Club produced was called The Mercury.

A John Parkinson Building in an advertisement for Terra Cotta.

I’m not sure if this building is still there or not but I like the advertisement.

I was looking for information on Morgan, Walls & Clements and came across this.

Next time I’m in Pasadena I’ll look around for this store.

I found this image in a Western Architect from 1911.

Here’s the place on a postcard.

This oversize postcard shows what the interior of the bank looked like.